Did you know Korea was hastily divided up by two junior American officers?

Question

When it became clear that the Americans had to fend off the Soviets who were penetrating Korea to get to the Japanese, an all-night meeting was convened at the White House (on August 10, 1945). Two junior officers, who hardly knew a thing about Korea, were sent into an adjoining room to carve out the US occupation zone. Working in haste and using a National Geographic map for reference, they proposed the area south of the thirty-eigth parallel be occupied by the U.S.
To this day, famillies on either side of the thirty eighth paralell have yet to be re-united. Wives and husbands, brothers and sisters, mothers and their children were seperated for a lifetime.
I was inspired to write this after reading a recent poster's question demanding why people aren't more grateful for America's help and frequent "bailing them out.". It's for reasons like this...people don't forget things like this.

This is a true historical fact. The two names of the officers were Lieutenant Colonel Dean Rusk and Charles Bonesteel talk about it in the book, "The Two Koreas; A Contemporary History", authored by Korean scholar Don Oberdorfer.

The notion that people were able to get together before the line was fortified is total nonsense. Do you mean that people willing chose to be separated? Anyway I know from first-hand accounts of interviewing Korean elders that they did NOT in fact have time to find their relatives and "get together".

Answer 1

I did know that, but many other people didn't

The division of Korea was a terrible thing, and like you said, people don't forget these things.

It's another fine example of the US stepping in to "help" like a bull in a china shop and then leaving the job half done.

Answer 2

While this may or may not be true, the dividing of the towns that took place was done by the war. Many families that were in that area were seperated during the war and made to fight each other. Plus before they put up the gate people had a chance to get together. the problem is that during that time there was a lot of fighting in that area and the people moved so they would not be killed, some went north and some south, but that area was empty because of the fighting. Also some people were serving in the north while their brother was serving in the south.

Answer 3

It might be true I do not know. I do know families were split up and I do know if US forces did nothing or were not there all Korea would be communist and who knows what would have happened to Japan. I also know that every day from then to this day there have been no less than 50,000 US troops on that border protecting the south from a North invasion. Where would that region be if our troops were not there?

It was a time of war and bad things happen during a war. Your example of your obvious Anti Americanism is pretty pitiful.

Incidentally 50,000 is also the number of Americans who lost their lives liberating France from Germany in WWII.

I recently read on CNN that even the Arab nations were calling on the US to intervene between Israel and Hezbollah and then say we favor Israel (which may be true but we sent 30 million dollars in aid to the Lebanese.)

I say if you do not like the way we do things quit allowing our solders and sailors to die protecting you and quit spending all the money we send in foreign aid.

We are not perfect and there are a lot of things going on in our Government I do not like or agree with but to all those foreign countries who keep putting us down why don't you return all the money and aid we gave you over the years.

There is not a country in the world we have not given aid to at one time or another.

Answer 4

are you korean? i am. i'm sure that you already know about the nukes that north koreans have been testing. did you know that america was planning on to take out the troops away from the zone, and move them somewhere to busan, and then north korean announced they will be testing nukes. if the americans leave that zone, south korea will be destroyed fast, because north koreans have more troops at the line, about 200 percent more. if without america, south korea will cease to exist. do you know what kim jong il's plan is? i sure don't, but those nukes seem like they can target south korea's cities. and if america did not help south korea in world war 2, then south korea would now be a communist country.

Answer 5

That is over half a century ago. Do you not think people know what is going on in the west compered to either N. Koea or S. Korea? That is a long time, and much history happened between then and now. Obviously, you know this history, or you wouldn't have asked the question. So admit it, Russia had an ifluence on the north. Come on, you know they did. Come on, admit it.

Answer 6

Actually they were afraid the Chinese would steal the DaVinci code and return it to Shanghai, thus indoctrinating the lower classes in the practice of buggery. The number 38 was actually chosen by the Jesuit chaplains who believed that you should always add a 2 to the square of 6 for prosperity.

Answer 7

So where's the proof? I hardly believe two junior officers were even IN the White House.

Answer 8

Nothing surprises me. Thanks you for the history lesson. I did not know this history about Korea. I live here but have not had much time to study Korean history.

Answer 9

So much for looking at the glass being half full. So what did they expect?

Answer 10

Another conspirational theory. Who knows, it could have been true!